Karyn Parsons

Assured young TV actor who gained exposure playing Hilary Banks, the spoiled, self-centered cousin of Will Smith on the hit sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC, 1990-96). Parsons had previously worked as a model and appeared in nearly two dozen TV commercials before making her TV debut in "Roughhouse" (CBS, 1988), a busted pilot directed by Martha Coolidge. She began to branch out into a feature career playing the female lead in "Class Act" (1992), a teen comedy starring pop rappers Kid 'N' Play. Parsons was selected to perform similar chores opposite Damon Wayans in "Major Payne" (1995). She returned to series TV in 1996 co-starring with Lori Petty in the short-lived Fox sitcom "Lush Life," in which the two played roommates.